


The Silent Aftermath

by Little_Gamer



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Coping, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-15 20:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14797370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Gamer/pseuds/Little_Gamer
Summary: After the death of the Eldest Princess of Nifil, the group settles in at an Inn to try and rest up for the night, some unable to sleep from the stress of the battle.





	The Silent Aftermath

Gaius couldn’t sleep.

It was late in the night. They had found a temporary stay in one of the village Inns. After so many long nights in the cold tundra of Nifil, the minimal amount of warmth that this small room gave was extremely cozy.

But after what happened today, he might as well have been trying to sleep on the ice outside. Small amounts of moonlight peeked through the cracks of the window shutters onto his face as he laid there on the bed in a vain attempt to try and sleep, when he heard the slight opening of the room door behind him. It was followed by light footsteps and what sounded like the slight movement of a heavy cloak. Gaius would have been concerned if not for the very light jingle of the golden accessories he heard.

“That you, Junior?”

“Aw, how’d you know it was me?” Henry had stopped in his tracks, “I was sure I entered the room all quiet like too. I thought you might have been sound asleep so I tried not to wake you.”

“Call it a lucky guess. And don't worry, I haven’t gotten the slightest wink of sleep yet.” Gaius had turned on the bed to look at the Dark Mage behind him, “Where’s the Summoner?”

“...They’re with the Prince and Princesses. Looks like they’re still in quite a shock from what happened out there.”

“Oh.” Gaius turned back towards the window. Looks like even their leader wasn’t immune to the mental blows of battle either. “Well, you should lie down. Someone has to try and get some sleep around here.”

Henry made a sound of agreement and then proceeded to lie down behind Gaius in his bed, much to the thief’s surprise.

“There are other beds, Junior... and rooms.” It’d been so long since anyone had the opportunity to have a bed to themselves, he was surprised Henry had decided not to make use of the other beds.

“Yeah, but this one’s already warm. Besides, it's probably only going to get colder outside through the rest of the night. So why not enjoy the company of my battle buddy to keep warm!” Henry said with slight enthusiasm. But it was the false enthusiasm that Gaius had learned to detect in his partner.

“Couldn’t sleep, Junior?” There was a slight pause before the dark mage responded.

“Not a wink! Nya ha, Guess my mind is still running around. It was crazy out there.” There was a hollowness to his laughter.

“...What’s on your mind?” Gaius figured it’d be better to ask then to try and guess what was bothering him.

“Just that it’s a shame that the Princess died like that before we got to even talk to her. Well, she talked to the Summoner at least.” So, the events of today’s battle still lingered on Henry’s mind like it did his, Gaius thought to himself.

_He had seen people die to fire magic before. But nothing like… **that**. When they arrived, the Princess was barely alive after Surtr’s torture. The Summoner had mentioned to them that Princess Gunnthrá was very beautiful based off what they saw in their dreams, but with the burns that covered her face and body, he was hardly able to make out her face at all. The Princess was being kept alive this long just so they could witness her demise. _

  _But what had traumatized him the most of the ordeal was the **smell**. The smell of burning flesh and hair filled the air when the Múspell King finally did a finishing blow to the poor woman. A sicking sweet scent combined with the smells similar to burning sulfur and charcoal, Gaius doubted he would ever forget the stench. It took every ounce of willpower he had to not cave in and heave from the odor. _ _The Summoner also seemed to be trying desperately to keep themselves composed from the sight and the stench. But there was no hiding the shock in their face and the tears beginning to come from their eyes. Even Henry seemed to be..._

“Did it bother you?” Gaius asked.

“No, not really.” Henry replied, “I’ve seen people die brutal deaths before, it’s just a shame. I wanted to meet her. Although,” Gaius had noticed Henry was gripping the back of his shirt as he spoke, “The Summoner seemed very upset. It’s actually the most I’ve seen them upset.”

_After the battle, it turned out that the Princess still had a spark of life in her. Enough to give power to the Summoner’s divine weapon, with a promise that it would help take down that bastard of a king. But it also put a target directly on the Summoner. And what was worse... The Summoner’s will had cracked. When Commander Anna gave the order to run, The Summoner wouldn’t move. Princess Sharena pulled at them but they stayed put._

“ _K-kiran! What are you doing?! We have to go!” Princess Sharena began to worry more as they couldn’t figure out why they weren’t moving._

“ _Her… her body… we can’t just...leave it...” The Summoner’s voice was barely audible as they stared in the distance towards Princess Gunnthrá’s torched body._

“ _We don’t have a choice, Kiran! We need to move!” Sharena still was unable to get The Summoner to move and her pleas were becoming desperate. “B-Brother, help me out here!”_

_Prince Alfonse ran up to The Summoner’s side and tried to talk them out of it as well._

“ _Kiran! I understand your pain, but we can’t do anything about it now. We’ll die if we stay here!” The Prince shook them as he shouted._

 _The Summoner’s continuous mumbling to themselves was inaudible and the group began to question if The Summoner could still hear them._ _The King_ _had_ _beg_ _u_ _n_ _to_ _approach_ _them_ _and The Summoner was still rooted in place, with nothing but_ _a despaired look painted on their face as they didn’t seem to notice the approaching danger._

“ _Dammit! My apologies for this, Kiran.” The Prince proceeded to lift the summoner over his shoulders and carry them. “We need to leave, now!” They ran into the remains of the snowy forest until they reached the cavalry units they had in waiting on the back lines. On way back, The Summoner never spoke a word._

Henry’s grip on the back of his shirt tightened. Henry was terrible with conveying his real emotions, but Gaius had grown to recognize the few tells that he would give away.

“How are they holding up?” Gaius asked, hoping to hear some good news.

“Didn’t seem like they could sleep either and they still won’t speak. It’s the first time I’ve seen them like this. Commander Anna said that I should give them some space for the night.” Henry had concern in his voice. If anyone knew what The Summoner was usually like, it was him. Henry had been by The Summoner’s side in battle longer than anyone else in the group. “Maybe, I could whip up a hex for them to make them feel better. Make them forget about the whole thing and move on. I mean they can’t be a tactician if they can’t even get a word out.”

 Gaius knew he meant well, but using a hex on them might not be the best course of action right now even if it did offer them temporary relief.

“Well, The Summoner did say that back in their world they were just a normal commoner and had never seen war up close before coming here. Maybe they don’t know how to handle what they saw today.” Though, before today, Gaius didn’t believe that they were a normal commoner granted just how good of a tactician they were. He assumed they were just trying to be humble about their high status. But given their reaction to the ordeal, it might have been the truth.

“Not only that, but now they’re next on the King’s list to be burned alive. And I don’t think Ol' Fire Beard is going to make it a quick one if he catches them. It might be best to give The Summoner some time before flinging the curses on them though. Let's see if they can bounce back on their own.”

“Hmm...” Henry stayed silent for a moment. “Then I guess we got to protect them even better. The last thing we need is them getting hurt, right? We can still let the curses fly around. Just at a different target.”

“Got a plan?”

“Yeah, once we find a way to get rid of The King’s ward, I’ll have an extra special hex ready _juuuust_ for him. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when his defenses finally fall.” A sinister tone had completly drowned out his usually playful way of speaking. “There will be blood.”

“…Heh, I’ll be sure to help you out with that.” While Gaius didn’t have the capability of being as cruel as his partner in battle, he wanted revenge for not only what he was forced to experience but for the trauma that was inflicted upon The Summoner and everyone else. But right now, they needed to focus on getting at least some rest before dawn.

“What do you say we try and get some sleep right now, Junior? We’ve got more snow to drag ourselves through in the morning. Those hexes of yours won’t be to useful if we freeze to death from falling asleep on the march.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Henry shifted on the bed, “Though mind if I sleep here? I’ve kind of gotten comfortable.”

Henry’s unusual nature aside, Gaius was really thankful for his company. He’d depleted over half of his stash from the stress and wasn’t feeling to great when he was alone. As odd as it seemed, getting to sleep after this hellish day felt like it would be slightly easier with his partner at his side.

“Heh. Go right ahead. This is the warmest I’ve been in days.” He said as Henry tucked himself under the blankets.

 In the end, Gaius was just hoping tomorrow would be a lot better.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time making a written fan work, so I'm hoping it was enjoyed. It's more practice for writing my favorite and best units for Heroes. Might as well kick it off with a big event, right?


End file.
